The Serpentine Sorting System

Oh? Are you looking for something? That's okay. Many people are. Do you know what you're looking for? No? Well, that's a problem, but not one we can't solve. Let me direct you to…

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The Library has a lot of books in it. More books than anyone could read in a thousand human lifetimes. More titles than anyone could read in a thousand human lifetimes. And unfortunately, most of its inhabitants do not have that long to spend browsing the shelves. The docents help, but their numbers are limited and sometimes dealing with them can be… unnerving. A long time ago a group of Wanderers banded together and decided to do some categorizing of their own: The Serpent Sorting System, also known as the SSS, the Three Serpents, or just the Serpents. Basing it off many other library sorting schemes found throughout the multi-universe, they created a malleable, constantly updating system for categorizing books by content and genres. They encouraged others to add new books they found to the catalogs, and it quickly spread throughout the culture of the Library. Since then it's grown into a massive, unwieldy, difficult to navigate behemoth, but any Wanderer worth their card knows how to "talk to the Serpents" with ease. And hey, it's still easier than hoping you stumble across what you're looking for on the shelves.

That's some neat lore and all, but what do I, a user of the website, actually do?

It's very simple. Think of the SSS as an expanded prompt system. At any one time, there will one prompt up (except for during this first initial rollout. These will be broad categories, or Reference Series, describing a thing, idea, or topic that a group of books might be categorized under. Each Series will have four blank slots, as well as three slots with pre-made titles1. If you think of a story to write following that theme, you can post it, and edit the title into a blank slot under the proper Series. Once the Series is full, it will be be put into the archived Series bin, and staff will add a new one to take its place. Once a series is full, it's full, and no more entries can be put under it. Each series will be up for THREE WEEKS before being archived (the initial round of series will be up for four weeks from the start of this change), you'll need to act somewhat fast (though of course, nothing is stopping you from posting a piece intended for a Series as a regularly story, and please don't let this impact the quality of your writing).

To add a story, first post it to the main site. Then, replace the "Uncategorized Entry" text with a link to the story (or add a link to the name of the pre-supplied title) and a link to the user page of the author. The format you should use is:

[[example story title]] by [*user username]

Do not add drafts, unfinished works, or links to works that are not yet written to this page. You may not reserve slots or insert a work until it has been COMPLETELY written and posted. You are, of course, allowed to edit works after posting, but the initial entry should be a finished product.

Prompts Cycle Out In:

So without further ado, the current three Series is..

ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES

Smack, baby. A pill to keep you chill. A plant to make you bend space. Uppers. Downsers. Entheogens. Way uppers, the kind that lead to crashing through glass and strangling your best friend and turning into a scaled beast that moves faster than the speed of sound. You want this baby? It's all yours. Every snort and stick and smoke and swallow. Just pay the right price, and don't let the feds catch you.

Some famous writings about illegal drugs include The Way of the Red Grass by Salman Sayne, These Visions by Romathel, and Opium Shadows by King Luca Brigante.

ILS-1: Black Market Magic by MaliceAforethoughtMaliceAforethought
ILS-2: [Uncategorized Entry]
ILS-3: [Uncategorized Entry]
ILS-4: [Uncategorized Entry]
ILS-5: [Uncategorized Entry]



Check out the old prompts here!

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